ghostbustersfandomcom-20200222-history
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an Emmy-Nominated American animated television series based on the hit 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television (now Sony Pictures Television), DiC Entertainment and Coca-Cola. "The Real" was added to the title over a dispute with Filmations Ghostbusters properties. The series continues the adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Winston Zeddemore, Dr. Ray Stantz, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer. Season 1 The Real Ghostbusters started off on both Saturday mornings on ABC (Season 1) which were 30 minutes shows during 1986-87. Season 2 The Real Ghostbusters ran Syndicated on weekdays and were 30 minutes also, during 1987-88. Some stations would remain running the reruns for a few years, and later included episodes from seasons 1 and 3. Season 3 During Early 1988 the show was changed to an hour format and the season 1 shows where shown along with season 3. However the episodes from season 1 had the voices of Lorenzo Music (Peter Venkman) and Laura Summer (Janine Melnitz) removed and instead voiced by Dave Coulier and Kath Soucie. Season 4 Later on the The Real Ghostbusters was renamed "Slimer! and The Real Ghostbusters". It was reformatted to a more kid-friendly show. Including two 15 minute long Slimer! episodes and one 30 minute The Real Ghostbusters episode but in the middle of them. Season 5 With Ghostbusters II in theaters that summer the cartoon was re-tuned to fit with the movie. The most noticeable change was with Louis Tully added. The "Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters Format was changed to one 15 minute The Real Ghostbusters episode, a 30 minute The Real Ghostbusters episode and a 15 minute Slimer! episode. Season 6 The show now was of two 30 minute The Real Ghostbuster episodes but the intro and show title remained "Slimer! and The Real Ghostbusters" In fact they even updated the music of the intro to the new sort of hard rock style version of Ray Parker, Jr. music. Sometimes this season is said to have the least likable music and animation effects, and many blame it for the end of the Animated Series. Season 7 Was the final season and only had four episodes. It was changed to a half hour block with one The Real Ghostbusters episode. However, like season 6 the title of the show and intro was still "Slimer! and The Real Ghostbusters". Main Characters Dr. Peter Venkman (voiced by Lorenzo Music seasons 1-2 and Dave Coulier seasons 3-7) is the group's first-among-equals. While not their official leader, Venkman often makes the decision whether or not they will take a case. He also provides comic relief and is usually nominated for tasks no one else wants to do. Dr. Egon Spengler (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) a scientific genius, is the primary source of expertise the group uses to understand (and many times combat) the ethereal realm. A skilled theorist, in many episodes Egon formulates the solution when all hope seems lost. Dr. Ray Stantz (voiced by Frank Welker) is portrayed as an excitable jack-of-all-trades. He is second only to Egon in sheer intelligence, and leans towards practical applications of science as opposed to Egon's pure research – the engineer to Egon's physicist. He is also a child at heart, cheerful and optimistic (and rather enamored of cartoons and stuffed animals). As the only one of the four who can reliably understand what Egon is talking about, he is usually the one to put his theories into practice. Winston Zeddemore (voiced by Arsenio Hall seasons 1-3 and Buster Jones seasons 4-7) is the courage and straight-man of the group; his accuracy with the proton gun is his forte. Of all the Ghostbusters, Winston Zeddemore has the subtlest character development; it is hinted that he is an avid reader and the descendant of a powerful African bloodline. Sometimes his last name is misspelled "Zeddmore" Janine Melnitz (voiced by Laura Summer seasons 1-2 and Kath Soucie seasons 3-7) is the secretary of the Ghostbusters and has a interest in Egon. Slimer (voiced by Frank Welker) is the pet of the Ghostbusters and is the only ghost that will stay still for Egon to test and study. In the kenner toy line known also as the "Green Ghost". Minor Characters Louis Tully (voiced by Rodger Bumpass seasons 5-6) is the accountant for the ghostbusters. Was put in the cartoon to follow along with Ghostbusters II movie. Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (voiced by Frank Welker except in one episode by John Stocker) is mostly a friend of the ghostbusters. The Ghostbusters often refer to him as "The Big Guy". Charlie Venkman (voiced by Lorenzo Music and by Dave Coulier for episode "The Treasure of Sierra Tamale") Aunt Lois (voiced by June Foray) Dr. Vincent Bassingham (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) Mayor Lenny Clotch (voiced by Hal Smith and by Frank Welker) Inspector Frump (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) Professor Dweeb (voiced by Jeff Altman) Junior Ghostbusters Donald (voiced by Danny McMurphy) Junior Ghostbusters Catherine (voiced by April Hong) Junior Ghostbusters Jason (voiced by Katie Leigh) Walter Peck (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) Edward 'Big Ed' Zeddemore (voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne) Jeremy (voiced by Frank Welker) DiTillio (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) Villain Ghosts The Boogieman (voiced by Frank Welker) comes after children scaring them so he grows more powerful. Samhain (voiced by Frank Welker) is the ghost of halloween. The Grundel (voiced by Neil Ross) The Sandman (voice by Frank Welker) Ghost Umpire (voice by Maurice LaMarche) Dib Devlin Development A short pilot episode was produced, but never aired in full. Scenes of the pilot can be seen in TV promos that aired prior to the beginning of the series. As with most pilots, the short episode has several striking differences from the finished product. For the most part, the differences come down to a greater faithfulness to the movie: Peter Venkman's design bears a greater resemblance to Bill Murray, the Ghostbusters still use their original uniforms, and Slimer appears as a gluttonous bad guy as he does in the movie. Certain scenes from the pilot would be edited and used in the show's intro, most notably the encounter at the end with the Staypuft Marshmallow Man. Other scenes from the pilot, including a shot of Ray waking up from bed with a Mr. Staypuft doll, the team sliding down the fire pole in sillhouette, and a skeletonized Red Baron laughing as he flies across the sky, would be used in the special intro used for the Real Ghostbusters halloween special, "The Halloween Door". Maurice LaMarche, the voice of Egon Spengler, described that even though the auditioners did not want him to impersonate Harold Ramis, he did so and got the part.2 LaMarche mentioned that, supposedly, Bill Murray asked why Lorenzo Music's voice sounded like Garfield and not like himself, and this may have weighed in the replacing of Music, with Dave Coulier replacing him after 65 episodes. This is ironic considering that Bill Murray took over the role of Garfield for the live-action movies. Ernie Hudson was the only actor from the film who auditioned to reprise his role, Winston Zeddemore, for the animated series, but he lost to Arsenio Hall. After the success of the film, a TV series based on the Ghostbusters began production. At the same time The Real Ghostbusters was being created, Filmation was making a cartoon known as The Original Ghostbusters, which was a revamp of Filmation's 1970s show/concept, The Ghost Busters. (Note that this show's title is written as two words, whereas the 1984 movie's title is usually written as one word.) Despite rumors to the contrary, Columbia was allowed to use the name Ghostbusters for its cartoon, but added "The Real" to snub Filmation.research? In the episode "The Spirit of Aunt Lois", Dr. Bassingham, a charlatan spiritualist wore an outfit similar to that of Jake Kong. With character designs by Jim McDermott, the animated characters were dramatically redesigned from the way the same characters looked in the movie due to likeness-rights issues. DVD Releases DVD name Release date Region Discs Episodes Bonus Features Adventures In Slime And Space July 12, 2004 2 1 * "Adventures In Slime And Space" * "Ghost Busted" * "Knock, Knock" * "Venkman's Ghost Repellers" None Sea Fright July 12, 2004 2 1 * "The Spirit Of Aunt Lois" * "Beneath These Streets" * "Sea Fright" * "Ragnarok 'N Roll None Creatures of the Night February 28, 2006 1 1 * "Night Game" * "Lost and Foundry" * "Bird of Kildarby" * "Killerwatt None Spooky Spirits February 28, 2006 1 1 * "Ghostbuster of the Year" * "Revenge of Murray the Mantis" * "Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin" * "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream" None Slimefighters February 28, 2006 1 1 * "Adventures in Slime and Space" * "They Call Me Mr. Slimer" * "Victor, The Happy Ghost" * "Slimer, Come Home" None Complete Series November 15, 2008 1 25 All 147 episodes from The Real Ghostbusters and Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters uncut and digitally restored. * Unaired pilot * Five documentaries * Booklets including episode synopsis, trivia, and art for each episode * 21 on camera commentaries * 86 episode introductions * Scripts and storyboards * Interviews with writer J. Michael Straczynski, and voice artists The DVD release of Ghostbusters II included two episodes of the series as bonus features, "Citizen Ghost", a story focusing on events set immediately after the first movie, and "Partners in Slime", which featured the psycho-active slime from Ghostbusters II and a brief mention of Vigo the Carpathian. On May 27, 2008, Time-Life announced they would be responsible for the complete series being released on DVD in the Fall of 2008. That July they allowed fans the chance to vote between two variations of an outer box for the set—one designed to look like the main characters firehouse headquarters and the other all black with different images on each side. Both featured lenticular printing, the firehouse version to show the Ecto-1 driving and the black version to have "slime" ooze down. The set was later announced as spanning 25 discs with over twelve hours of bonus content and a scheduled shipping date of November 15, 2008, with the "Firehouse case" winning the fan voting.